He turned, then said, “You’ve got my background info. I don’t have yours. Ever been married? Any kids?”
“No and no. Too busy for both. I have a niece who lives with me, though. Her mom died of cancer five years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was hard, for both of us. My sister was my best friend. Sophie and I had been close since she was born, so that helped. Dawn’s death just brought us closer.”
“You adopted Sophie?”
She laughed. “No, nothing like that. Dawn was five years older than me, so Sophie was past the age of needing to be adopted. She stayed with her dad until she came out to Boston U and moved in with me.”
“You live in Boston?”
“I do.”
He found himself mentally calculating the distance. A four-hour drive from the city, but only three from their place.
Vanessa continued. “I know, I don’t have the Boston accent. I grew up in Newark. Yes, I’m a Jersey girl. I kept the hair, but I managed to lose the accent, thankfully long before that show started.”
“Show?”
“If you don’t know it, I’m not mentioning it. Now, you’ll want to turn right at the next light. Then we’re only a mile away.”
He eased back into his seat. “Tell me about Sophie.”
She grinned. “Happily.”
She did, with as much pride as he’d talked about the boys. By the time she said, “That’s it, up there on the left,” he was relaxed and ready to handle the situation calmly and rationally.
“Thanks,” he said as he pulled into a parking spot.
“Anytime. Now let’s scoop Reese up and get him on a plane home. By then, my resources should have a phone number for Malcolm.”
23. NICK
They were a couple of blocks from a hotel where he’d stayed with the boys when they visited the Detroit auto show so Noah could choose his first car. Nick figured this had been Reese’s last attempt to find him—stop at the hotel and see if he could pick up Nick’s scent. When he hadn’t, he’d gone for breakfast.
The hotel was actually in a suburb, like most of the city’s best. This suburb had been around for decades and had weathered the economic woes gracefully. The road looked like any other well-to-do street, with people bustling about. Or driving about, as the case was. It wasn’t a walking neighborhood. Reese must have walked, though, at least from the hotel, because Nick saw no sign of his car. That got his heart speeding up, even if he knew Reese would rather trek a mile than drive it.
“He’s fine,” Vanessa murmured as they waited to cross the road. “There’s absolutely no way that Malcolm …”
She trailed off. Nick followed her gaze to see three men getting out of a pickup with Ohio plates. It was the same truck he’d out-maneuvered last night.
“That’s not poss—” She cut herself off and reached to grab Nick’s arm, but he already had hers, tugging her back between a truck and a van. Nick double-checked the plate number. There was no question. It was the hunters from last night.
“Stay here,” he said. “Cover my back while I go inside.”
“No. They followed you. They must have. You can’t lead them to …”
Again she trailed off. This time, Nick didn’t need to track her gaze because they were looking at the same thing—the hunters, as they headed straight for the restaurant where Reese waited.
“How the hell?” Vanessa said.
“I’m guessing they hacked my phone. Listened in and heard Reese tell me where he is.”
She shook her head. “I’m betting on a supernatural explanation. A clairvoyant on the team or a shaman.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Nick said. “I’m not standing here until I figure out how they found him. They did.”
She caught the back of his shirt before he could leave.
“Reese is still fine,” she said. “They won’t touch him in there.”
“I’m—”
“—going in after him. I know. And I won’t stop you. It’s not like I could even if I wanted to. I’m just asking you to take thirty seconds to plan your next move.”
“I won’t know that until I get in there,” he said. “See the layout. See what they’re doing.”
She nodded. “Fair enough. Swap phones with me, then.”
He glanced down at her as she held out her phone.
“Take mine so I can contact you,” she said. “I’ll take yours so I can call Reese and let him know what’s going on before you get in there.”
Nick handed her his phone. The hunters headed into the restaurant without a backward glance. He followed.
Nick had told Vanessa he couldn’t formulate a plan until he got the lay of the land. Not entirely true. It was only the specifics he needed more data for. The general plan was simple: get Reese the hell out of there.
Reese didn’t look up when Nick walked in, meaning Vanessa had indeed warned him. He sat across the restaurant, drinking a Coke and doing something on his phone—or pretending to. The hunters had taken the booth right behind him. Their heads were together as they talked. They didn’t look up, either.
Gaze still fixed on his phone, Reese gestured with his free hand. It took a moment for Nick to realize what he was trying to communicate. Sit down. Wait.
Nick hesitated and then slid into a booth, positioning himself so he could see Reese but the hunters couldn’t see him.
Vanessa’s phone pinged. Nick glanced down to see a text from Reese.
They’re figuring out how to take me down. Consensus seems to be following me back to my car.
Not surprisingly, the hunters didn’t know a lot about werewolves—at least not enough to lower their voices.
Nick texted back. Head to the restroom. I’ll confront them. You slip out.
Reese looked over and mouthed, “Seriously?”
Nick glowered at him. Apparently he wasn’t very good at the expression, because Reese seemed to be stifling a laugh. Reese shook his head and texted.
I’ll leave, but only to lure them out. You follow. I’ll give them a convenient dark alley to jump me in. We jump them. Find out who they work for.
Nick paused. He could feel Reese watching him.
Another text pinged. I’m not a kid, Nick. You, me, your spy friend against three of them? Easy odds.
Nick replied, It’s not them I’m worried about.
Reese paused, then he sent back, You saw Malcolm out there?
No, but he’s keeping an eye on the situation. If he’s here—
Nick stopped. He didn’t send the message. Instead, he flipped to send one to his phone, for Vanessa. A simple, Everything okay?
His heart pounded as he waited for a reply. When none came after ten seconds, he called. The phone rang. And rang. And went to voice mail.
Nick scrambled out of the booth. It took him all of five seconds to realize what an idiotic move that was. He scrambled up, the hunters spotted him, and everybody went still.
The three hunters stood frozen, their mental wheels turning as they figured out their next move. Reese was looking at something across the restaurant. Nick started for the men. Reese swung out of his booth, yelling, “Gun!” and grabbing the nearest hunter by the arm—the arm that was under his jacket, holding his weapon.
The gun flew out. People screamed. Reese grappled with his target, the gun hitting the floor. One of the other hunters just stood there, slack-jawed. The other whipped out his gun. Nick dove for him as he heard a shout from across the restaurant: “Drop your weapons! Police!”